There’s so much to do in Nashville, Tennessee: explore the Parthenon, walk around Centennial Park, enjoy live music on Broadway Street, feast on hot chicken, and, of course, visit the library. The Check Out Your Library team recently visited the Hermitage Branch of the Nashville Public Library as part of our Fiction and Film tour to chat about all things Libby and Kanopy.

I was surprised to see how many families have transitioned to homeschooling in Hermitage. While public school students sling their backpacks over their shoulders for the first day of school, homeschool students head to the public library where they host weekly meetings with other local homeschoolers. Over the course of our event, we met with over ten families that have opted for the flexibility of homeschooling.

The public library is an invaluable resource for these families. Not only does the library provide a space for meetups, but it also provides free learning tools like the Libby app. If you’re a homeschooling family and wondering how Libby can help you make the most of this school year, check out these five tips below:

Keep them busy with activity books

No need to stack your bunk beds to create more room for activities. Your library’s digital collection is full of books to help supplement your curriculum! Science-based cookbooks, nature focused experiments, and field guides to state wildflowers are just some of the amazing resources you may have available from your library in the Libby app.

Try read-alongs for emerging readers

Young learners can borrow read-along titles to establish the building blocks of their reading skills. Read-along titles pair professional narrators and picture books with highlighted words. Following along with the text can help build word recognition and makes it easier for kids to grasp new words.

RELATED READ: 25 awesome read-alongs to explore with your kids

Smart features like define and annotate

When reading ebooks, you can use Libby’s define feature to learn the meaning of new words or translate words from different languages. Libby’s notes and highlights features make writing papers a breeze, and you can even export annotations out of the Libby app.

Borrow kid-friendly magazines

Learn to make invisible ink or play Bio-Bingo. With a range of offerings from Brainspace to National Geographic Kids, there’s sure to be a magazine to interest your learner.

Libby makes it easy to keep up with your favorite magazines, too! Just tap Subscribe next to any magazine to add it to your magazine rack. When new issues hit the stand, you’ll be notified!

Improve your teaching methods

Let’s not forget home educators. Libby certainly hasn’t! If you’re a home educator, browse your library’s digital collection to find books to round out your teaching skills and give you insights into your student’s mind. Learning new things doesn’t have to stop at graduation.

Browse Libby to see what titles are available from your library or check out this list below for some tried-and-true favorites. 👇🏾

RELATED READ: The most popular kids books of all time in the Libby app

Have a great school year!